Hey guys,
So I wanted to revisit this thread and close the loop on it.
First and foremost, the Hankook F200 slicks are fantastic. I got two full days out of them. The first day I was running consistent 1:30s in 45*F temps. Exceptional grip. The tires took approximately 6 minutes to heat up without warmers on such a cold day, leaving about 13-14minutes to enjoy the 20 minute session.
On the second day with 6 full sessions already into them I ran consistent 1:31s with one session dipping into the 1:30s. The front right tire corded at some point during the 2nd day and it never lost a tick. They really do "Grip all the way down to the cords".
I rate these tires A+
The fronts seem to outgrip the rear. I recommend that you play with front tire pressures if they tend to be oversteery. The front wanted to oversteer on the exit of the fastest corner of the track so until I wrap my head around that I probably won't run 29s again. By next season I'll have adjusted. The rears grip with consistency and they never went off. I can probably throw on some front tires and get 1-2 more days out of the rears to be honest. They are that good. The reason why the fronts go so quickly is likely due to the car being so heavy and the extreme loads under braking. I'm pretty certain that is what it is. Anyhow, don't be afraid to try these. I ran 280/660/18 front, and 300/680/18. They rate their tires smaller as they measure "Tread Width". The front width is actually 304 and the rear is actually 330.
Now for the part you've been debating.
SS Racecar VS SS-1LE VS ZL1-1LE
Me, MechanicalENG, and our buddy Gabriel had a chance to test this out. MechanicalENG's SS-1LE is bone stock with brand new Supercar 3. Gabe's race car is stripped down to the frame and pushing 500rwhp. My ZL1-1LE is stock with the exception of a full straight piped exhaust. The racecar and my car both have tunes. I did not run Ethanol for this comparison. Just 93 octane so my horsepower was probably around 595 or so to the wheels. My power also seemed down on the day as my trap speeds down the straight were about 4-5mph slower overall.
One note about our tire setups. MechanicalEng ran SC3 but his tires are relatively new. My Hankook F200s were corded at the time of this session so grip was approximately 60-70% of when they were new. Gabe in his racecar had shagged Falkens.
Here are the main takeways:
SS-1LE - Greg (MECHANICALENG) drove the SNOT out of his car. Following us he lapped consistently in the 1:31s which is PR pace for him. We noticed his car had superior corner entry and he could close in several car lengths on the brakes when we pulled on him in the straights. His mid corner speed is also solid. We could only leave him on the drives out of corners and once lapped traffic shook things up the gaps were just too much for him to close. 1:31 was on the absolute limit for him with a 1:30 possible under perfect circumstances. I think 1:29s are possible with race compounds and slicks. However, that car could use a few more horses. We estimate that he is putting out about 390rwhp-415rwhp. *note: It's pretty unanimous between the three of us that Greg is the best driver. You can trust his driving. 100% Certified. So with that said, while Greg makes it look easy to keep up, keep in mind that 8 out of 10 of you don't and won't drive as well as he does. hahahahaha Sorry but that's the truth.
SS Racecar - This car was an animal. It's a non 1LE automatic stripped down to the guts with a built motor. This car seemed to be right in the middle. Just as sweet handling as the SS-1LE albeit a little less stable in the corners. In the vid I'll post below you'll see him get sideways somewhere within minutes 8 and 11. In addition to being sweet handling the damn thing was nearly as fast as my ZL1-1LE on the drives out of corners. If I am being completely honest I feel that I might have even been slowing him down in a couple of places. He could match my speed in the fastest corners of the track. There were only a couple of places on track where I could inch away and maybe pull a car or two but that just came down to track familiarity as I've been running here a while and I know what to look for. It'll be interesting to see how things play out next season when we are both on sticky tires again. The SS Racecar seems extremely close in performance to a stock ZL1-1LE. In retrospect, if you are a track guy, if you can build one of these for under $50k, then that is smart money, especially if you plan to go racing. With slicks and some more setup this car is easily mid 1:20s.
ZL1-1LE - This car shined in outright speed, and it was very stable. You do feel the weight of the car and you have to be careful not to "Overbrake" as the car can be prone to push. You can definitely drive around it though. Certain circumstances require the car to be muscled while others require the car to be finessed. Overall, while I maintain that this is still the outright fastest car, the margin is quite small -- until of course you turn the ZL1-1LE into a race car and start stripping things out etc.
Fastest times of the day:
ZL1-1LE = 1:30.x
SS Racecar = 1:31.x
SS-1LE = 1:31.x
Average lap times in this session = 1:31.x (on laps without traffic)
Enjoy Greg's video:
Gabe's Video in the SS Racecar
My cabin video in the ZL1-1LE